Costco has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a nationwide lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, by 700 past and present female employees who accused the discount retailer of discriminating against women in promotions to management jobs.

The proposed settlement would also require Costco to post all openings for assistant general manager positions at least 10 days in advance and would allow assistant general managers to notify the company of their interest in further promotions.

The suit, filed in 2004, claims women have been unfairly passed over for promotion to general manager and assistant general manager at Costco's more than 350 warehouse-style stores in the United States.

In another San Francisco case, women made similar claims against Walmart, citing disparities in pay and promotions. But the U.S. Supreme Court denied nationwide class-action status to their suit in 2011, saying they had failed to identify a company-wide policy of sex discrimination.

A federal appeals court then rejected class-action status for the Costco suit. But it was reinstated in September 2012 by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, who said Costco's employees had presented more evidence of systematic bias than the Walmart workers.

Chen said Costco does not post openings or accept applications for management jobs, does not specify qualifications, and notifies prospects with a "tap on the shoulder," while allowing top executives to review all promotions. The plaintiffs offered statistics of disparities in promotion rates and cited statements by Costco executives that women's role as domestic caretakers made them less interested in promotions.

Costco has denied discriminating against women.

The proposed settlement would allow women who said they were unfairly denied promotions to file claims with an arbitration panel. Once a woman had shown that she had expressed interest in a promotion and was qualified for the position, the burden of proof would shift to Costco to show that she was not promoted for a reason other than her gender. Otherwise, she would be entitled to compensation for lost pay and benefits.

Costco would also be required to establish criteria for the management positions. In a court filing this week, the women's lead attorney, Jocelyn Larkin of the nonprofit Impact Fund, described the settlement as "fair, adequate and reasonable" and asked Chen to give preliminary approval at a hearing in February.